บท 54: Kazekage Rescue Mission [IV]
As the news from Chiyo made its way to the Sand village, the council was quickly convened to address the issue...
"Yuura was a double agent!" Burst out a council member in disbelief.
"Unbelievable, a man who has been part of us for four years, a traitor?" Another council member mused.
"It does explain how the enemy infiltrated our defenses so easily, though. The thought of our security head being a spy never crossed our minds." Baki reasoned.
"And here I was thinking we had scrutinized everyone thoroughly when Gaara took up the role of the Kazekage. How could this have slipped through?" Kankuro voiced his frustration.
"The guy might've been under some sort of Jutsu spell. We can't say for sure," Ebizō suggested.
"But the real question... why is there no mention of the most critical bit about the Kazekage..." A council member threw the message scroll in frustration, "There's nothing about when Kazekage Gaara will return?!"
"The image of one of the Five Great Shinobi Lands' Kazekage being abducted by mere bandits... It's a bad look for us and the other lands! And to top it off, one of them being Sasori of the Red sands. If word gets around, it'll be a massive disgrace!"
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Back at the Akatsuki base...
"Zetsu... take care of the two bodies we used for the substitution jutsu."
"Got it."
"Itachi, give me the lowdown on our opponents and what they can do."
"We're up against a squad of five from the hidden leaf; Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki the Nine-Tails holder, Sakura Haruno, and... Sasuke Uchiha. Oh, and the Sand Village's advisor, Chiyo." Itachi reported.
"Did he just say Chiyo...?" Sasori wondered.
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In the meantime, both Team 7 and Team Guy were on the move, making their way to the Akatsuki hideout after overcoming their adversaries...
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"It seems like unleashing the gate of joy has worn him out..." Pakkun mused, observing Guy's heavy breathing and struggle to keep going.
"Are you doing alright, Guy-sensei?" Rock Lee queried.
"Are you kidding? My energy is always at its peak, I've got plenty of juice left!" Guy proclaimed with a laugh, only to slam into a tree branch and fall to the ground...
"Guy Sensei!" Rock Lee cried out.
"I'm not a doctor, but he doesn't seem all that fine to me!" Tenten noted.
"What do you think? He just unleashed the Asakujaku, didn't he!" Neji remarked. "We should give him a breather!" Neji added.
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As dusk crept in, Team 7 decided to pause their journey for a while...
"Let's take a breather here," Kakashi proposed.
"Sounds like a plan," Chiyo concurred, with everyone else nodding in agreement.
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"Alright, nap time's over!" Guy announced, stretching from his brief slumber.
"Are you sure, Guy-sensei?" Rock Lee questioned.
"Positive! I'm all charged up after that power nap," Guy confirmed.
"So, Neji," Pakkun turned his attention.
"No worries, he bounces back like a champ!" Neji reassured.
"Right. So, that leaves..." Pakkun glanced at Tenten.
"I'm good to go!" Tenten declared, rising to her feet.
"Great. Now, to compensate for the break, we'll pick up double the speed," Guy stated.
"Say what!?" Tenten exclaimed.
"Why not triple? That way, we'll get there sooner," Rock Lee suggested.
"Brilliant. Let's go with quadruple then," Guy upped the ante.
Tenten sighed, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead, while Neji appeared visibly annoyed.
"Something the matter?" Guy queried.
"It's physically unachievable, regardless of how you look at it," Neji argued.
"Can we not do this? I thought we were done with the impossible proposals!" Tenten protested.
"But Guy-sensei, that's why I suggested tripling the speed," Rock Lee reasoned.
"Even that's a tad too much, Lee," Pakkun pointed out.
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At the headquarters of Team 7, while everyone else was lost in dreams, Naruto and Kakashi were the exceptions, already awake,
"Alright, that's plenty of rest!" Kakashi declared.
"Agreed!" Naruto chimed in.
"Hey, you two, it's time to get up, we're heading out." Kakashi directed at Sasuke and Sakura, who stirred from their sleep.
"U-Understood." Sakura mumbled.
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Team Guy resumed their mission towards the Akatsuki lair after a brief reprieve...
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In the same vein, Team 7 also picked up their journey post waking up...
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In the Akatsuki lair...
The extraction of the One-Tail was still in process,
"We're about to hit the final phase."
"What's the game plan for those annoying bugs?" Kisame queried.
"They're moving faster than expected."
"No worries, we've delayed them enough, just disregard them, we've got a backup plan."
"Ultimately, it's us who'll have to deal with them." Deidara chimed in.
"Let's wrap things up here swiftly, Deidara, we have guests to entertain, you'll need a breather before that, won't you?" Sasori suggested.
"Exactly. We have hospitality duties to fulfill." Deidara concurred.
"But don't underestimate them, particularly the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Naruto Uzumaki, he's impressively powerful..." Itachi warned calmly.
"Ugh, that brat is such a nuisance, can't wait to take him down." Kisame grumbled.
"And we're still struggling to locate our Jinchuriki."
"Easy! Don't get all worked up. We just need to focus on our tasks at hand."
"Enough with the mindless banter, concentrate! There's no room for errors from this point."
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"Follow my lead!" Pakkun barked, with Team Guy hot on his trail.
"Roger that!" Guy responded enthusiastically.
"Something's off." Neji voiced his concern.
"What's up, Neji? You picking up something?" Rock Lee queried.
"An enemy's presence perhaps?" Tenten chimed in.
"Actually, it's the absence of it that's got me on edge." Neji clarified, "Considering they used that heavy-duty jutsu just to buy some time."
"So you're saying..." Rock Lee started.
"Could it be...?" Tenten speculated.
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"They're cocky enough to think they've bought themselves enough time, so they don't need to hinder us anymore." Kakashi deduced.
"I'm getting the same vibe, like they..." Chiyo began but trailed off.
"You don't mean that…" Sakura said.
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Meanwhile, back at the Akatsuki Base,
The extraction of the One Tail from Gaara was complete, resulting in his limp body collapsing to the ground.
"At last!" Sasori remarked.
"So, it took us three whole days and nights." Deidara pointed out.
"Gets tiring every single time, doesn't it?" Kisame noted.
"Man, my shoulders are killing me."
"Good job, team."
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Team 7 got to the hideout first, with Team Guy trailing a few minutes behind...
"Wow, you guys beat us here?!" Rock Lee exclaimed as Team 7 stood in front of the base.
"Gaara's on the other side of that big rock!" Pakkun informed.
"You were just a tad bit slower.." Sakura teased.
"Who's the older woman ?" Tenten asked.
"Ah, that's Lady Chiyo, she's a big deal in the Sand." Sakura explained.
"Pleasure to meet you." Chiyo greeted.
"Ready to get this show on the road, Kakashi?" Guy inquired.
"Absolutely!" Kakashi confirmed.
"Byakugan!" Neji declared, activating his Byakugan and attempted to peek inside the rock [The base],
"I can't quite make out what's happening inside...Looks like there's a crowd..." Neji reported.
"Neji, can you spot Gaara?" Sakura inquired.
"I'm not picking up on Gaara's Chakra here, which means..." Naruto began but hesitated.
"I see something, what is…that…?" Neji murmured.
"So, What did you spot?" Sakura questioned.
"It's complicated to put into words…" Neji admitted.
"So, in other words..." Tenten started.
"In other words, we gotta go in and see for ourselves, right?" Rock Lee interjected.
"Simplifies things!" Guy declared , stepping back to create distance between him and the rock and charged towards it, striking it with all his might.
Rocks tumbled down, but the boulder stood firm, "Pretty sturdy barrier, huh...?" Guy noted
Meanwhile, inside the hideout,
"Getting a bit rowdy out there..."
"Seems they've made it." Kisame said.
"But which squad is it now?" Deidara asked. "The one Kisame delayed? Or could it be..." Deidara pondered.
"It's…both squads..."
"So, they got here simultaneously, huh?"
"However, They're just a tad late...".
[A. N: Thanks for reading, drop Powerstones that will help a lot and drop reviews if you like the story and add to your library]
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